10-Month-Old Boy Dies from Choking on Pine Cone at Daycare: 'He Was My Heart,' Says Grandmother

Photo: Family Photo

A North Carolina family is mourning the death of a 10-month-old boy who died on Wednesday after choking on a pine cone at daycare.

Areon Ellington’s family is looking for answers after the boy died around 11 a.m., just hours after his doting grandmother, Helena Harris, dropped him off at A Hug A Day Care in Raleigh,WRAL reports.

“The daycare lady called me and told me that I needed to get to the daycare because Areon was choking on something,” Harris told the station.

Raleigh police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.

A Hug A Day Care.Google Maps

Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Child Development and Early Education called the death a “tragedy” in a statement to PEOPLE and said that the agency has issued a summary suspension of the daycare’s license.

Online records show that the state made five unannounced visits to the daycare over the last threeyears and found three violations, with one as recent as January.

An outraged relative enlisted the help of thepublic with a Facebook post, calling on the daycare to be held accountable.

As for Harris, she told WRAL that she is heartbroken and desperate for answers.

“He was my heart, my heart,” she said. “He was, through our struggles, what was bonding us together.”

source: people.com